勅修百丈清規 7

The Baizhang Zen Monastic Regulations 7

Language: English

7.1

Fascicle Seven

9. Format for the Accounting Record

Inscribed on a Wooden Board

The following is the record of the auction revenue and its expenditure regarding the late Venerable So-and-so’s possessions:

A revenue of one thousand guanwen (i.e., one guan = one thousand wen). (This is the total revenue from the auction. If there are any other items of revenue, they must be detailed in a serial list.)

An expenditure of ninety-one guanwen. (The items to be recorded on the wooden board.)

Itemized in detail:

Fifteen guanwen: The funeral shrine. Three guanwen: Procurement of funeral offerings. Three guanwen: The rice gruel offering. One guanwen: The shrine lamp oil. Ten guanwen: Paper, brushes, and so on for records; flags, artificial

flowers, and wicker leaves. One guanwen: For shaving the head of the deceased. Two guan and five hundred wen: For the rite of lifting the shrine

and transport of the deceased. Five hundred wen: For preparing hot water for bathing the deceased. Two guanwen: For bathing and cleaning the corpse. One guanwen: For the shrine attendant to serve rice gruel and rice. Five hundred wen: For treasury office attendants to report and

prepare the funeral offering. Five hundred wen: For setting the area of the funeral rite with curtains,

floormats, and so on.

Five hundred wen: For the work of accounting the revenue and

expenditure in detail.

Five hundred wen: For funeral offerings prepared and delivered

from the treasury office to the shrine attendant.

Five hundred wen: For a kitchen subfunctionary to cook food

provisions.

Five hundred wen: For a treasury office tea serving attendant to

offer tea and sweet hot water.

Five hundred wen: For a ceremonial leader to assist the attendants’

activities.

Two guanwen: To the practice hall attendants to help provide

information.

Five hundred wen: For the foreman to arrange manpower for various

work and activities.

Five hundred wen: For the abbot’s attendant to convey the master’s

commands and carry his incense case.

Ten guanwen: For the novice attendants to participate in various

prayers and sutra chanting.

One guanwen: For practice hall attendants to display the monetary

gift records and strike the wooden sounding block.

Two guanwen: For attendants of the four offices to serve tea.

Fifteen guanwen: For manpower required to lift and carry the

portable funeral shrine.

One guanwen: For attendants to play cymbals for ceremonies.

Three guanwen: For attendants to play drums for ceremonies.

Three guanwen: For six workmen to carry the incense table, flags,

candles, and so on.

Five hundred wen: For novice attendants to create and distribute

paper flowers and branches for the funeral procession.

One guanwen: For a workman to help with the cremation.

Three guanwen: For workmen to assist the abbot’s group for the

procession.

One guanwen: For workmen of the four offices to transport the

bamboo cases to auction.

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Five hundred wen: For the attendant at the auction to affix an identity

tag on each item to be auctioned.

Five hundred wen: For attendants to show each item at the auction. Five hundred wen: For an alms-serving attendant to give each

successful bidder a tally. Five hundred wen: For an alms-serving attendant to place auctioned

items back into the basket at the auction. Five hundred wen: For the meal-proceeding attendant to deliver the

lottery tray to bidders at the auction. Five hundred wen: For a workman to collect the remains after

cremation. One guanwen: For a workman to lift the box of ashes when depositing

the remains in the tower. One guanwen: For workmen to attend the tower at the time of

depositing the remains.

The foregoing are the items included in the expenditure of ninety-one guanwen.

An expenditure of two hundred and seventy guanwen. (An amount totaling three-tenths of what remains after the foregoing expenditures recorded on the wooden board is to be added to the temple’s annual revenue.)

An expenditure of one hundred and thirty-five guanwen for Buddhist funeral rites.

Itemized as follows:

Twenty guanwen: For the material cost of the cremation rite. Ten guanwen: For a monetary gift at the rite of applying fire to the

pyre. Forty guanwen: For the rites of closing and lifting the shrine and

lifting and depositing the remains. Twenty guanwen: For monetary gifts at the four ceremonial rites of

the foregoing events. Thirty guanwen: For the prayer rite at the funeral site by the director

of practitioners’ affairs, auction records by the guest reception

official and the attendant of the guardian bodhisattva. Fifteen guanwen: For three monetary gifts for the foregoing events.

An expenditure of fifteen guanwen: five guanwen each for the funeral procession headed by the primary seat official, rear-guarded by the head administrative official, and the chanting led by the director of practitioners’ affairs with the hand bell. These are itemized for the above total.

An expenditure of nine guanwen: three guanwen each for the chanting led by the guest reception official and the abbot’s assistant who carried the incense case; two guanwen for the attendant of the guardian bodhisattva who handled the auction revenues; and one guanwen for the maintenance official who provided the torch. These are itemized for the above total.

An expenditure of fifteen guanwen for the attendants of the abbot, the dual order officials, and the practice hall official who served at the auction proceedings and made the records of itemized objects and prices; incidental food provisions three times for their work, of which the cost is received by the abbot’s office. These are itemized for the above total.

An expenditure of twenty guanwen for the inspection and sanction by the abbot and the dual order officials of the contents of auction, of which the cost of two is received by the abbot’s office. These are itemized for the above total.

An expenditure of four hundred and forty-four guan and five hundred wen for the service of sutra chanting by the practitioners, of which Guanyin, (Avalokiteśvara) Bodhisattva, the guardian bodhisattva (shengseng), and the abbot each receive the amount of two guanwen; approximately four hundred regular practitioners each receive one guanwen; the practice hall attendants who participate in the chanting, the practitioners-in-absentia, and the recent arrivals, together numbering seventy-five, each receive one half, five hundred wen. These are itemized for the above total.

Excluding the foregoing expenditures, an expenditure of five hundred wen (diverted for public use by the practice hall office).

The foregoing report is prepared as before [the venerables’ inspection]

Date and year Prepared by So-and-so attendant

The practice hall office

Records kept by: Assistant of the guardian bodhisattva,

So-and-so (signed)

Guest reception official, So-and-so (signed)

The maintenance official The Buddha hall master

The kitchen hall official The bath hall master

The treasury official The Tripiṭaka hall master

The director of The Tripiṭaka hall master

practitioners’ affairs

The treasury official The secretarial official

The administrative official The rear practice hall official

The head administrative The primary seat official

official

Signed by all dual order officials

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The abbot, signed

The institution of the wooden board account record (banzhangshi) perhaps derived from the custom of earlier times to record whatever information was necessary for accomplishing ritual conduct on a wooden board, whereby it was shown that no arbitrary changes [to the record] were allowed. This has become the practice of preparing a wooden board accounting record on the death of a practitioner of the Zen monastic community. Whenever a practitioner dies, his personal items are distributed at auction for the sake of the other practitioners, by pricing these items before the practitioners’ very eyes as a disciplinary measure to counter the greedy accumulation of personal possessions. At the auction, such possessions are assigned a monetary value, necessarily requiring a record of reference inscribed on a wooden board. Other than the amount expended for an event, the remaining money must be divided into three parts and seven parts, with the former amount of three-tenths given to the temple’s general fund as overhead.

(For example, in the case of one hundred guanwen, thirty guanwen would be turned over to the temple’s revenues. In the case of there being less than a hundred guan, no three-tenths overhead should be considered.)

The remaining amount must be equally distributed to the practitioners. If remuneration for the practitioners’ service of chanting sutras is one hundred wen, one guan must be due for conducting a religious rite, and twice that amount is due to the abbot. Using a revenue of one thousand guan as a standard, the distribution of expenditures has been shown in the format above. If a given auction brings a higher amount, a proportional increase should be made as to each expenditure; if it brings in less revenue, a proportional decrease in expenditure should be made. Taking into account the actual circumstances and also taking into consideration the number of practitioners, adequate and expedient changes should be made.

(If a recently deceased retiree official left behind personal possessions such as a rice field, rice crops, cottages, bedding, furniture, and so on, all these must be turned over to the temple. In accordance with the amount acquired from the auction, if it is more than what is necessary, more days of services for chanting sutras may be prescribed to dispense with the excess money as a gift to the practitioners, and by scheduling additional rites and services, such as servings of tea and sweet hot water, turning the funeral shrine around, and so on.)

End of Chapter VII: The Practitioners

of the Zen Community

The Annual Celebration Days

and Calendar

I. Preface to the Chapter

Practitioners do not follow the order of their chronological age but that of ordination age, so that [the religious] world is distinguished from the secular one. In the western regions (i.e., the Central Asian Buddhist countries including India), there are three seasons, one of which is established as the period of retreat, during which no one may leave or come to the monastery. The system of order is based on seniority determined by whether one’s learning of the Zen texts by heart (chansong), practice of cross-legged seated meditation (xingzuo) and year of ordination (shoujie) [were accomplished] earlier or later than another’s. For the duration of ninety days [each year], practitioners [remain in their respective residences] in order to achieve some definite degree of merit in the practice of the path. In the thirty days [prior to the retreat period], each acquires the basic needs of life (i.e., clothing, food, and so on), enabling them to develop Zen insight internally and nurture their physical well-being externally, so that they can sustain peace of mind and body [through the subsequent period of concentration]. Every practitioner is obliged to commit himself to that full period and carry out disciplined training without wasting a moment, and to spare every living thing and be motivated by compassion and patience. What a wonderful institution this is, which has been followed for ten thousand generations!

The five regions of the Indian continent are so vast that the weather in these regions varies between hot, cold, rainy, and dry and is never the same everywhere. Thus, the period of retreat begins in the fourth month in some provinces, in the fifth month in others, and even in the twelfth month elsewhere, although it always begins on the sixteenth day of the month. The so-

called rainy season retreat(yuanju) has been institutionalized according to the

various geographical regions and their seasonal changes. It is sometimes called

the “summer retreat” (zuoxia) and at other times the “winter retreat (zuola),

and it was on the basis of this retreat [period] that the meaning of “ordination

age” (jiela) began to be used to refer to the years of a practitioner’s career. It

is, however, a kind of baseless vulgar saying that [the expression, “so-and-

so many years of winter retreat,” originally referring to the determination of

a practitioner’s career in reference to his ordination age], was distorted to

mean that examining the quality of a wax-made statue buried in the ice is to

verify the impeccability of a person’s practice in terms of clean ice, and that

burying a wax-made human form in the ground is the way to examine whether

his practice has accomplished the goal or not. How could such distorted ideas

have come from our traditional transmission? Moreover, what is practiced

and experienced in our tradition cannot be fathomed even by a holy man [such

as Laozi]. How much less could such an external object be a measurement

of the state of religious transcendence or immanence?

Today, in the Zen monastic institution, the inauguration of the summer

retreat is set for the mid-month (i.e., fifteenth) day of the fourth lunar month,

and it ends on the mid-month day of the seventh lunar month. If the retreat is

set to begin one day earlier, by performing a special ceremony, every retreat

participant is enabled to fully concentrate on their intent, the fulfillment of

their practice within the retreat period. Thus, omitting or abridging trouble-

some literary statements is not necessarily discordant with the spirit of the

Vinaya discipline. [Some argue that] this is not in accordance with the Vinaya,

but they do not realize or understand the intended meaning of the rule hidden

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outside it. In China, winter begins at the beginning of the year and is regarded

as being the start of the four seasons. Everything, whether material or tempo-

ral, is regarded as being new and is celebrated by all in their hearts. It is impor-

tant to coordinate the seasonal proprieties [of monastic life] with those of sec-

ular society. Since it is the best method of conversion to follow such expediency,

the beginning and end of the summer retreat, the winter solstice, and the new

year have been institutionalized as the four major festival days [in Zen monas-

tic communities]. The manner of the practitioners in their circling and turning

movement is so regulated that the entire session appears to be a grand gather-

ing of supernatural beings, and the vocal exchange of question and answer

between host and guest is comparable to that of a lion’s roar. Their ceremonial proprieties are well ordered; how glorious it is to regard them!

II. The Inauguration of the

Annual Summer Retreat

1. The Presentation of the Residency Chart

Draft Prior to the Summer Retreat

On the first day of the third month, it is customary for a Zen monastic temple to issue a residency chart draft (format given below), after which the abbot no longer accepts new residents. The practice hall office copies the number [and names] of practitioners from the residents’ “Ordination Record Book” ( jielapai) and instructs an attendant to present this to the primary seat official, then to the abbot and the dual order officials [for inspection]. [He then] posts it in front of the practice hall and sets up a table below it, equipped with an inkslab and brushes. For approximately three days, after the noon meal practitioners are advised to check the residency chart draft and correct any mistakes or wrong information about themselves. The reason that the chart draft is not immediately finalized as to the record of the units of floor space (chuangli) is simply because it is feared that temporary confusion may result from such mistakes, and also because when there are a great number of residents omissions may occasionally occur. Therefore, in order to prepare the residency chart (tuzhang), a draft is first made, and each member must examine whether his name and rank appear in it in the proper order of seniority. In recent years, those who like to dispute and create disturbances, based on their strength and motivated by private interests, compete for superiority with others [in regard to their respective Dharma lineages], thereby placing blame on each other and engaging in quarrels, with the result of greater disturbance among the resident practitioners. Such transgressors must be censured and expelled altogether. If, in effect, some do derogate others’ names and transgress the norms of the precepts, it is obvious that the director of practitioners’ affairs must deal with them by informing the primary seat official about the matter in detail and also by reporting it to the abbot.

Format of the Residency Chart Draft

(The ordination rank is to be written in red ink, while the name is to be written in black ink.)

The Ordination Ages of Practitioners

Name and Title

Ordination Year of Regnal Era

The Original Ordination [authorized by the Tathāgata Bhīṣmagarjita-

ghoṣasvararāja (Buddha Weiyinwang)]

The Immemorial Past [referred to in the Lotus Sutra]

The Venerable Eldest Senior Practitioner Ājñātakauṇḍinya

Ordination [authorized by Śākyamuni Buddha]

The Venerable Master Abbot

So-and-so Senior Practitioner

Ordination, Such-and-such Year of the Zhiyuan Era

So-and-so Senior Practitioner

Ordination, Such-and-such Year of the Yuanzhen Era

So-and-so Senior Practitioner

Ordination, Such-and-such Year of the Dade Era

So-and-so Senior Practitioner

Ordination, Such-and-such Year of the Zhida Era

[and so on]

The foregoing chart is prepared as presented to [the practitioners]. It

is feared that there might be some errors; should there be any, each of

the venerable practitioners is advised to correct them. May all the ven-

erable practitioners examine, without fail, their respective records given

on this chart.

Date and Year

Prepared by So-and-so Official

The Practice Hall Office

2. The Serving of Tea by the New Residents

on Joining the Practitioners’ Quarters

After establishing membership in the practitioners’ quarters, based on the preceding examples, the new residents donate funds to the quarters for the cost of a tea reception. They ask the head official of the quarters which day they should be in charge of the tea serving according to the rotation assignment system, and post a signboard for the tea serving to inform the practitioners. The signboard reads as follows:

Today, immediately after the noon meal, So-and-so senior practitioner

and others (three, six, or nine, listed by name) will be in charge [of the

tea serving].

Each member must carry a small incense case and be properly attired. They line up beforehand to the right of the quarters’ entrance and wait for the practitioners to leave the practice hall. The tea master of the quarters strikes the wooden sounding block in front of the quarters, and when the practitioners have all arrived, he receives them with a gesture of greeting, then returns to his position and stands there.

Those who are serving tea stand in line and, after giving greetings, request the practitioners to take their seats. When everyone is seated, they proceed in two or three groups to the mid-hall incense burner, located between the higher- and lower-ranking sections of the hall. No more than nine practitioners should offer incense. Three practitioners [at a time] step forward [to offer incense, and then] step back and turn around, mutually coordinating their movements [with the other practitioners] in a precise and smooth manner.

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Forming a line, they bow, and proceed, dividing themselves into separate groups, toward the incense burner and bow. [After offering incense] they return to [the end of their line], bow in unison, and remain standing. This is called “offering incense on behalf of the practitioners.” The small wooden sounding block in the hall is struck twice to signal that the serving of tea has been extended to every member in the hall. The jars of tea [for the second serving] are now brought into the hall through the rear hall entrance. Once again, the practitioners step forward in groups of three as before, bow before the incense burner, return [to their places], forming a single line, and bow in unison. This is called the “commendation to drink tea” ( yicha). When the

wooden sounding block is struck once, the teabowls are retrieved and the practitioners all rise from their seats. The head official of the quarters steps forward to the incense burner and on behalf of all the practitioners thanks the practitioners who served the tea. At the same time the practitioners, from their respective positions, [show their thanks] by joining their palms in a gesture of respect. Thereupon, the head official of the quarters returns to his place.

The serving practitioners once again line up and bow. Again they proceed in groups toward the incense burner and bow before it [after offering incense]. This is called “giving thanks for the guests’ presence.” As before, they step back, form a line, and bow [toward the altar]. The wooden sounding block located in front of the quarters is struck three times, signaling the practitioners to give greetings harmoniously and leave the hall. The head official of the quarters instructs the tea master to invite those who served tea at the reception and serves tea for them. When all the new residents have completed their serving of tea on the occasion of joining the quarters, the head official invites them to the tea reception each day, designating their names on the basis of ordination seniority. The propriety of this tea reception is identical to the above.

3. The Issuance of Various Charts

before the Summer Retreat

Once the draft of the ordination chart is finalized, the practice hall official draws up the Śūraṃgama-dhāraṇīs ceremonial chart, the prayer chanting and practice hall rounds chart, the bed quilt space unit chart, the almsbowl seating position chart (formats given previosly as well as below), and the ordination age tablet, all on the basis of ordination seniority. The chart showing where each individual keeps his bowl, practices zazen, and sleeps must be divided into sixteen sections. (The remaining charts are not affected by the size of the practice hall.) Excluding those head officials who have individual quarters, the west hall guest official, the primary seat official, and the retired officials who should be assigned to the head position of each section, the remaining practitioners are assigned to the seats of the sixteen sections according to ordination seniority. In the Ancient Regulations, one of the officials of the retiree’s hall was assigned to a seat which was shared by another practitioner. Later, however, this double assignment was abolished because it created dispute and competition.

The [foregoing] charts, all of which ought to be formulated according to ordination seniority, both original and corrected, must be presented together for inspection, first to the primary seat official and then to the abbot. These charts, when finalized, must be recopied and presented along with the originals. Only the almsbowl seating chart must be presented to all the officials who have individual quarters. On the day of the ceremonial bathing of Śākyamuni, all the charts must be displayed in front of the Buddha hall. The quilt and almsbowl (i.e., zazen and meal position) seating chart (beibowei) must be displayed beforehand, with a small bulletin board on which is written:

After the morning rice gruel, the quilt and almsbowl seats will be assigned.

May every practitioner know of this matter. Respectfully stated by the

practice hall official on such-and-such day of such-and-such month.

Chart of the Initial Head Seats of the Sixteen Raised Meditation

Platforms and Almsbowl Positions

head seats not specified sleeping positions identical

inner hall

(7)

(8)

(4) Rs E D Rs (3)

guardian

Rs

Rs

Rs (12) (11) Rs

bodhi-

Rs (16) sattva (15) Rs

shrine

Rs

Rs

Rs (14) (13) Rs

Rs

Rs

Rs (10) (9) Rs

Rs

Rs

(2) Rs B A (1) Rs I G C

(5)

(6)

skylit hall skylit hall

SPONMLKJ outer hall FHQQQQQ

wooden rack wooden rack

Ss Ss Ss Ss Ss Ss

front entrance

Key A. Abbot K. Master of the Bath House B. West Hall Official L. Master of Ceremonial Affairs C. Primary Seat Official M. Master of the Practitioners’ Quarters D. Rear Primary Seat Official N. Master of Hermitages E. Trainee Primary Seat Official O. Master of Ceremonial Proceedings F. Administrative Head P. Master of the Memorial Towers G. Secretarial Official Q. Assistants to the Abbot’s Office H. Director of the Practice Hall R. Practitioners I. Scripture Hall Official S. Recent Arrivals J. Guest Reception Official

4. Special Serving of Sweet Hot Water

for the Quarters’ Residents at the Beginning

and End of the Summer Retreat

(Including the Śūraṃgama-dhāraṇīs Prayer Service

at Its Inauguration and Completion)

At the beginning of the fourth month, or when the practitioners visit the abbot’s office to express thanks for having been granted residency, the practice hall official should have already finalized the ordination chart and the head official of the quarters must have completed the following items on the basis of ordination seniority:

1. The sutra cabinet assignment chart.

2. The tea and sweet hot water propriety seat chart.

3. The ordination seniority name list tablet.

4. The seniority of joining the quarters name tablet.

5. The calendar of regular shaving days.

6. The chart of the positions of jars and bowls for serving tea and sweet hot water during the summer retreat.

Whoever wishes to volunteer to be a member of the serving team should note his name down in reference to these positions.

After these charts have been completed, they are displayed together in the rear section of the quarters at the time when the quarters’ residents exchange the morning greeting.

On the afternoon of the twelfth day, the practice hall office attendants report to the abbot and the dual order officials that the service of sutra chanting will be held at the practitioners’ quarters. A tablet announcing “sutra chanting” is posted at each quarters to inform the practitioners of the event. The head official of the quarters sweeps and cleans the hall. Having prepared beforehand the invitation for a special reception of sweet hot water (format given below) to all the quarters’ residents, he posts it in the outer hall lower section of the quarters. The preparation consists of setting up the tablets indicating seating, arranging alms offerings on the altar of the enshrined Guanyin image, placing incense burners and candle stands in both the higher and lower sections of the hall, and heating up the sweet hot water beforehand. The head official of the quarters personally delivers a portion of the sweet hot water to the abbot’s office and instructs the tea master of the quarters to distribute it to the quarters of the dual order officials.

After these two deliveries of sweet hot water have been completed, the

small wooden sounding block located within the quarters is struck. First, the minor propriety of serving sweet hot water is conducted, for which the seating tablets must be reset. This reception is conducted especially for the first master of the quarters, the second master of the quarters, and the Śūraṃgamadhāraṇīs ceremonial leader [of the quarters], who are assigned to carry the jars and cups [for serving the major reception]. The associate head official (liaozhang) is invited as main participant. They take their seats when the head official of the quarters, with a gesture of greeting, offers incense, and [they drink a cup of sweet hot water] when he offers incense and makes a gesture of greeting [a second time]. The associate head official then returns to his seat and the minor reception is completed.

The wooden sounding block located outside the quarters is struck to signal the associate head official and the practitioners to enter the hall and stand at their respective seat positions. The assistant to the director of practitioners’ affairs, invited as main participant, is seated symmetrically to the head official in the rear section, separated by an arm’s length. The associate head official is seated in the front section directly opposite from and facing the head official, while the practitioners take their positions at the fourth seat board according to ordination seniority. Dividing the serving area into two, the first and second masters of the quarters conduct the propriety of the serving. They

greet the practitioners one by one with a bow. Upon returning to their places, they make a gesture of greeting to request the practitioners to sit, and burn incense with another gesture. At the signal of two strikes on the quarters’ small wooden sounding block, they serve the sweet hot water, and when [all have been served] they make a gesture of greeting to request the practitioners to drink. At the signal of another strike of the quarter’s wooden sounding block, they retrieve the serving cups. The associate head official of the quarters steps forward to the incense burner and expresses thanks for the sweet hot water. At the signal of three strikes of the wooden sounding block outside the quarters, all withdraw from their seats.

When the dual order officials enter the quarters, the primary seat official and the head administrative official offer incense, return to their respective positions, and remain standing. The head official of the quarters stands outside to the right of the entrance, waiting for the abbot’s arrival. He receives the abbot and follows him into the hall, then burns incense and returns to his position at the end of the west order. As the head official of the quarters steps forward to burn incense, the Śūraṃgama-dhāraṇīs ceremonial leader intones the sacred verses and offers the invocation of merit transference. He sees the abbot off. The propriety of the twelfth day of the seventh month (i.e., the last day of the summer retreat) is identical.

Format of the Written Invitation

So-and-so, the Guarding Bhikṣu of the practitioners’ quarters, respect-

fully conducts a serving of sweet hot water this evening at this quar-

ters’ hall, especially in honor of the residents of the quarters as a whole

as part of the propriety of the inauguration (or completion) of the sum-

mer retreat. We earnestly request your honorable presence at this occa-

sion with due compassion.

Respectfully written by

So-and-so, Guarding Bhikṣu

The Practitioners’ Quarters

Format of the Envelope

Letters of Invitation

To

The Honorable Zen Masters, Resident Members

of the Practitioners’ Quarters

From

So-and-so, Guarding Bhikṣu

of the Practitioners’ Quarters

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5. Inauguration of the Śūraṃgama-dhāraṇīs

Prayer Service

This ceremonial session must be inaugurated on the thirteenth day of the fourth lunar month. The practice hall official copies the ceremonial chart (format given below) beforehand, referring to the records of the practitioners’ ordination seniority. He posts this chart along with all other charts in front of the Buddha hall on the day of bathing the statue of the infant Śākyamuni (i.e., the day of the Buddha’s birthday celebration), and requests the secretarial official to compose a word of tribute. The director of practitioners’ affairs appoints beforehand someone endowed with a good voice to be the ceremonial leader of the Śūraṃgama-dhāraṇīs prayer service and accompanies him to the abbot’s office and the administrative office to introduce him. Both offices invite the ceremonial leader for a snack, with the director of practitioners’ affairs as a participant.

On the appointed day, the director of practitioners’ affairs copies [a special] sacred verse to include in the universal invocation of merit transference directed toward all beings. (The verse, composed by Zen Master Zhenxie Qingliao [ca. eleventh to twelfth century], is given below.) The verse is posted on the right and left pillars of the Buddha hall. In some monastic temples, a tablet on which the verse has been inscribed is hung on the pillars. The evening before the day [of the ceremony], the practice hall office attendants notify the practitioners:

After breakfast tomorrow morning, the Śūraṃgama-dhāraṇīs prayer

service is scheduled to be inaugurated at the Buddha hall. Every one,

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properly attired, is requested to attend the service of chanting sutras.

A tablet announcing the sutra chanting is posted at each quarters of the

temple.

The next day, after the morning rice gruel, the dual order officials and

the abbot are informed when the preparations have been completed in the

Buddha hall. Starting from the practitioners’ quarters, the wooden sounding

block is sounded to relay the signal to the wooden sounding blocks of all

corridors of the temple, ending with that of the abbot’s office. When the

abbot comes out of his office, this is signaled by three strikes of the metal

gong at the kitchen hall, followed by the sound of the large bell, the prac-

tice hall bell, and the Buddha hall bell all at once. Arriving at the altar of the

Buddha hall, the abbot burns incense, offers tea and sweet hot water to the

Buddha, and takes his place mid-hall. Thereupon, the attendants play the

cymbals, and the director of practitioners’ affairs greets the abbot and the

dual order officials, signaling them to offer incense in successive pairs from

each order.

(According to the Ancient Regulations, there is no performance of prostra-

tions by the practitioners [at this moment in the ceremony]; however, recently it

has become customary for practitioners to perform three prostrations. During this

time, the abbot kneels, left knee up and right knee on the ground, before the incense

burner and makes the respectful gesture of joining his palms together. This same

propriety is performed in the ceremonial proceeding for the prayer of imperial

longevity and the commemoration of the Buddha’s birthday. It is not known for

certain which patriarch may have started this tradition. In tracing the origin of this

propriety, it may be said that the practitioners’ act of prostration and the abbot’s

kneeling down, as well as the reading of the word of tribute, clearly point to the

sense of celebration for imperial longevity and to the sense of gratitude and dis-

charging of indebtedness to Śākyamuni Buddha. These meanings must really be

emphasized by strict adherence to the proprieties. On the other hand, the

Śūraṃgama-dhāraṇīs prayer service is essentially meant to be a prayer on the

part of the practitioners for the successful completion of the summer retreat. Hence,

the proprieties in question must be inappropriate for this kind of ceremony, and

it is best to omit them here and follow the Ancient Regulations.)

After the Verses of Adoration for the Buddha is recited and the word of tribute is read, the ceremonial leader invokes the presence of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas to the place of the Śūraṃgama-dhāraṇīs prayer service, with the practitioners’ accord. The ceremonial leader then recites the Sanskrit verse and continues to recite the introductory passage of the Śūraṃgama-dhāraṇīs. He initiates the prayer service by intoning the esoteric verses, and upon completion utters the phrase “Mo-he” (“Hurrah to the Great Vehicle!”), with which the practitioners again accord in unison. Thereupon, the director of practitioners’ affairs gives the following invocation of merit transference:

The merit accrued from chanting the sutra is dedicated to the goal of

absolute truth (bhūta-tathatā; zhenruo) and absolute reality (bhūta-koṭi;

shiji), and also thereby to enshrine the state of supreme enlightenment

(bodhi; puti) that follows the realization of Buddha-nature (buddha-

phala; foguo). May this deed help us discharge our obligation resulting

from the four kinds of indebtedness, help those who abide in the three

worlds to equally realize enlightenment, and together with all sentient

beings of the Dharma world, reach the perfect realization of omniscient

knowledge (sarvathā-jñāna; zhongzhi). Veneration to the Buddhas in

the ten directions and the three periods [of time], and so on.

Each day, the practitioners take a short recess after the morning rice gruel. When the practitioners have changed into ceremonial robes, the practice hall office attendant notifies the dual order officials and then the abbot. After that, the attendants begin striking each of the wooden sounding blocks located throughout the corridors of the temple three times. The kitchen metal gong is sounded three times when the abbot comes out [of his office]. If [the abbot does not come out], the metal gong and the large bell should not be sounded; however, the practice hall bell and the Buddha hall bell should be tolled every day in any case. When the practitioners have gathered in the hall and the chanting of the Śūraṃgama-dhāraṇīs has been completed, the ceremonial leader intones the verses of universal invocation of merit transference, chanted by the practitioners in unison. If this ceremonial session coincides with the first day of the month or the mid-month day, the director of practitioners’ affairs should express celebration of imperial longevity in

his invocation of merit transference. On the thirteenth day of the seventh lunar month, the ceremonial fulfillment of the Śūraṃgama-dhāraṇīs prayer service should be conducted (this propriety is identical as before). The only difference is that the ceremonial leader is required to intone the ending passage that comes after the sacred prayer verses, followed by the invocation of merit transference by the director of practitioners’ affairs, after which all leave the hall.

The Universal Invocation

of Merit Transference 1152a

The foregoing chanting of the sacred Śūraṃgama-dhāraṇīs has been

intoned by the sacred assembly of bhikṣus. The merit thereby accrued is

dedicated to the deva and nāga guardians of the Dharma, to the local

earth spirits and the gods of the temple building, the creators of things.

May those suffering in the three worlds of existence and of the eight kinds

of diffculties be freed. May the four kinds of benefactors and the three

worlds of existence be fully rewarded. May the state be in peace while

armed revolts are quelled. May the wind and rain be properly ordered so

that people have well-being and ease. May this assembly, well disciplined,

wish to accomplish an advantageous advance. May everyone traverse

through the ten bodhisattva stages with no diffculty. May the temple main-

tain its serenity, transcending all unexpected disasters. May the patron

devotees uphold their devotion and increase in fortune and wisdom. Ven-

eration to the Buddhas in the ten directions and the three times, and to

all bodhisattvas, mahāsattvas, and Mahāprajñāpāramitā.

1. The Word of Tribute for the Inauguration of

the Śūraṃgama-dhāraṇīs Prayer Service

Because iron is the essence of tempering and grinding, its edge can never

become dull; and because the mirror borrows the luster of a well-pol-

ished gem, its reflection can never become darkened. Therefore, our pre-

ceding sages (i.e., patriarchs) manifested their capacities, sometimes sup-

pressing and other times enhancing such qualities in order to shatter even

the tiniest speck of delusion for the sake of sentient beings. The episode

of Mātaṅgī and Ānanda tells how marvelously an illicit magical power

was intimidated, and Śākyamuni and Mañjuśrī especially revealed the esoteric means of conversion. From analytical study of the forms of teaching and the method of introspection taught by the Buddha throughout his lifetime career, one may find the doctrines and practices; and yet from the point of view of the esoteric revelation of practice and realization, there is neither realization distinct from practice, nor is there practice separate from realization. It reveals the absolute insight (zhenjian) and terminates multiple illusions (zhuchen). An empty flower has no stem. Abiding in right concentration, one restrains every inner movement. Still water creates no waves. In reflecting upon the descendants, it may be asked: How many of us understand this? Chanting the words left by our predecessors, we admonish ourselves. May we earnestly wish to reduce myriads of kalpas, as many as the sands of the Ganges River, into a single moment of thought, for there is no distance between now and then. May we also wish to identify all the lands of the ten directions as a single abode of existence, so that all may universally attain supreme enlightenment.

2. The Word of Tribute for the Fulfillment of

the Śūraṃgama-dhāraṇīs Prayer Service

Glancing back at this monastic community, we see it as if it were the Jetavana Monastery, where innumerable bhikṣus assembled like an ocean. At the great assembly of the disciples, where all in stern dignity gathered at Vulture Peak, the grand universe of three thousand great universes was embraced within a speck of dust, and the three different dimensions of time dissolved into a single moment of thought.

Having reposed upon the voluntary self-reflection at the end of the summer retreat, one neither restrains oneself not to transgress, nor does one exert one’s effort; rather, one is totally harmonious and interdependent with the myriads of phenomena as a whole. Irrespective of whether one is mundane or transmundane, [there being no distinction,] each individual’s wondrous enlightenment, reflecting each moment of great illumination, manifests myriads and myriads of bodies and surpasses all the fifty-seven stages of realization.

The use of a finger is meant to exemplify the truth that it is not the finger [but what it points to], and thus this finger also ceases to be [merely

a finger] simultaneously with its being [that which it points to]. While

it resembles emptiness (śūnyatā) and contains it within, it is yet juxta-

posed with emptiness, and thus emptiness [and form] are reciprocal.

Thus, out of his compassion for those of limited understanding,

the Buddha especially encouraged those whose minds are slow and

dull. We have steadfastly adhered to this teaching bequeathed by the

Buddha during the period of the summer retreat. Since there has been

no obstacle throughout the period of the retreat, may we earnestly hope

that our practice of concentration and insight (śamatha and vipaśyanā)

prevails over the gates of all senses and intellect, and that the tran-

scendent faculty (dayong) arises as often as it may [within phenome-

nal faculties] and thereby lead them equally to enter into the ultimate

state of the śūraṃgama samādhi.

The Śūraṃgama-dhāraṇīs Prayer Service

Seating Chart

Buddha Altar

incense incense incense candle candle candle candle candle candle

burner burner burner

45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34

47 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

49 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12

Śūraṃgama director of 51 ceremonial master practitioners’ affairs

52 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

54 practi- training primary abbot head head practi-

tioners officials seat admin. assistant tioners 55 official official

56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69

Front

6. The Tablet of Ordination Ages

Officials of the practice hall office, the assistant office, and the practitioners’ quarters get together beforehand to draw up the tablet of ordination ages by copying [the ordination record book]. In the afternoon of the fourteenth day, these tablets must be placed in the higher-ranking section of the outer practice hall, in the lower-ranking section of the Dharma hall, and in the practitioners’ quarters. Each office sets up a table equipped with an incense burner and candle stands as well as various alms offerings. The practitioners each burn incense, perform prostrations with opened sitting cloth, and then take down their respective tablets in order to place them at their assigned seats.

7.87

III. Various Proprieties for the

Sweet Hot Water Reception

1. The Minor Propriety of Serving

Sweet Hot Water at the Abbot’s Office

At the occasions of the four annual celebration days, according to ancient custom, traditionally three kinds of reception are held at the abbot’s office for serving hot sweet water. The first reception prescribes the “dual division seating arrangement” (fenerchu). This reception is held for the east and west hall high-ranking officials, with the primary seat official as a participant. The second reception consists of the “quadruple division seating arrangement” (fensichu). There are four sections with this seating arrangement: 1) the training officials (the west order) are to take their seats at the first section (i.e., front right) [in the abbot’s reception hall; 2) the administrative officials (the east order) take their seats at the second section (front left); 3) the retired west order officials are seated at the third section (middle right end); 4) the retired east order officials are seated at the fourth section (middle left end). The west hall official is invited as a participant.

The third reception consists of the “sextuple division seating arrangement” (liuchu). This arrangement requires the subfunctionaries of the head temple as

well as all the other various temples to be assigned to the six divided sections according to rank. At the same time, whoever holds a similar position should be seated consecutively within the same section. The primary seat official is invited as main participant for this reception. The office of assistant officials prepares a draft chart beforehand for each occasion and presents it to the abbot before establishing the final seating arrangements.

On the appointed day, seat name tablets must be prepared by inscribing the guest names on each of them. In the afternoon, three crepe-wrapped tables are placed in a line in the reception hall (i.e., the one adjacent to the abbot’s office), and the three formal seat arrangements, drawn up as No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, are displayed in the lower section of the reception hall. It is the duty of the guest reception assistant to handle the reception for the high-ranking officials, such as the east and west hall residents, the front hall primary seat official, and the head administrative official. He is obliged to visit each of their quarters and, after performing a prostration with unopened sitting cloth, makes the following request:

The abbot requests the venerable’s presence at a special serving of

sweet hot water this evening at the reception hall, sir.

For those other training officials and subfunctionaries, as well as some renowned practitioners, the attendant of the guest reception master at the abbot’s office is sent to invite them respectively with the following words:

The abbot wishes the venerable to be present at a special reception for

serving sweet hot water to be held at the reception hall before the

evening session, sir.

Curtains are hung in the reception hall, the seat name tablets placed, the candles lit, incense burned, and after all this is done, the guest reception master’s attendant notifies the assistant official and then the abbot, before drumming.

When the guests assemble for the first type of reception, they are greeted by the assistant official. They are led before the abbot, exchange bows with him, go to their respective seat positions designated by the seating tablets, and remain standing. Both the incense offering assistant and the guest reception assistant, dividing the two areas of serving, proceed to stand before each of the guests, greet each one with a bow, and, after requesting them to take their seats, return to their places. The incense offering assistant steps for-

ward to offer incense, and upon returning to his place once again, he and the guest reception assistant go around to each of the guests to bow and burn incense on their behalf. Thereupon, the abbot’s office wooden sounding block is struck twice to signal the completion of the serving of sweet hot water. Then the guest reception official goes around [once again], commending each of the guests individually to drink, and thus the reception is accomplished. Next, the incense offering assistant steps forward to burn incense on behalf of the participant. With the signal of a strike on the wooden sounding block the cups are retrieved, and at the signal of five drumbeats the guests are obliged to leave. The proprieties of the three types of reception are identical.

The proprieties of the serving of tea and sweet hot water were the major and most common tradition in Zen monastic temples. But because disruptive quarrels, concerning whether the seats are too high or too low and so on, frequently occurred among guests in recent years, [this tradition] has mostly been abandoned. However, each abbot must try to revive this propriety and established practitioners of the Zen world must urge others to do the same. This propriety is said to be regarded as a practice that should be widely encouraged in the future.

Minor Propriety Seating Arrangements

(symbols $, #, ¶, • show the direction each person faces)

1. The Dual Division Seating Arrangement

Participant ($) ($) Host

Second seat (#) (#) First seat

2. The Quadruple Division Seating Arrangement

Participant ($) ($) Host

Fourth seat (¶) (•) Third seat

Second seat (#) (#) First seat

2. The Sextuple Division Seating Arrangement

Participant ($) ($) Host

Fourth seat (¶) (•) Third seat

Sixth seat (¶) (•) Fifth seat

Second seat (#) (#) First seat

2. Prayers Given at the Shrine

of the Local Spirits on the

Four Annual Celebration Days

In general, on the afternoon of the day before [each of the four] annual cel-

ebration days, various alms offerings are solemnly set out at the shrine of

7.91

the local spirits, and incense, candles, a table, incense burner, and water jar

are arranged there. The practice hall office attendants post a wooden tablet

announcing the scheduled prayer chanting to notify the practitioners. The

manner of striking the wooden sounding blocks located throughout the cor-

ridors of the temple is identical with that of the three monthly days ending

in eight (i.e., the eighth, eighteenth, and twenty-eighth day of each month).

The practitioners assemble and stand facing each other at the practice hall.

The abbot first visits the patriarchal shrine hall and then the Buddha hall to

burn incense and perform three prostrations, at which time the kitchen hall

metal gong is sounded three times and the large bell is tolled. When the abbot

arrives [at the practice hall] he offers incense and returns to his place. (At

the abbot’s arrival, the practitioners stand with palms together and heads

slightly down; the assistant official follows after the abbot with his hands

clasped over his chest [chashou].) The novice attendants play the cymbals.

Thereupon, the director of practitioners’ affairs steps forward to greet the

dual order officials and burn incense. He leads the prayer chanting and con-

cludes with the appropriate invocation of merit transference (given below).

Invocations of Merit Transference for the

Prayer Chanting of the Four Celebration Days

On the Inauguration Day of the Summer Retreat

We earnestly reflect that a fragrant wind blows over the field, while

the blazing sun commands the entire world, and we have today arrived

at the first day, as prescribed by the Lord of our religion (i.e., the

Buddha), of the summer retreat period, that of restraint from activi-

ties. As this is the first day for Buddhist followers to shelter and protect all living creatures, we have respectfully gathered at this shrine of the local spirits to intone steadfastly the sacred names endowed with innumerable virtues and to dedicate the merit thereby accrued to all the spirits enshrined in this hall. We humbly pray for their protection, so that the present retreat may be fulfilled without interruption. May the practitioners intone the prayer, and so on.

On the Fulfillment Day of the Summer Retreat

We earnestly reflect that a golden wind blows over the field, while the bright sun commands the entire world, and that we have arrived today at the last day of the summer retreat as prescribed by the Lord of Enlightenment. As this day begins the fulfillment of another year of Buddhist ordination, we rejoice that there has been no problem throughout the ninety-day period, and peace and ease have prevailed with us. By intoning the sacred names endowed with innumerable virtues, we wish to respond to the spirits of this hall to express our thanks. May the practitioners intone the prayer, and so on.

On the Winter Solstice Day

We earnestly reflect that the time of the year’s end approaches, while the chapter [of the year] has arrived at the day of the winter solstice (i.e., the page of fortune-telling [shuyun]). As this is the day when the sun begins its return course, it is the beginning of the birth of ten thousand classes of beings. Having respectfully assembled the practitioners at the shrine of the local spirits, we intend to intone the sacred names endowed with innumerable virtues and to dedicate the merit thereby accrued to the spirits enshrined in this hall. May the practitioners intone the prayer, and so on.

On New Year’s Day

We earnestly reflect that the workings of nature have invisibly carried out their course, while the calendar year once again has renewed itself, and we pray that the four kinds of order be secured in peace, and cel-

ebrate New Year’s Day. Having respectfully assembled the practi-

tioners at this shrine, we intend to intone the sacred names endowed

with innumerable virtues and dedicate the merit thereby accrued to the

spirits enshrined in this hall. May the practitioners intone the prayer,

and so on.

The Invocation of Merit Transference

Common to All Four Days

We dedicate the merit accrued by the foregoing prayer to the local spir-

its of the temple environs and the guardian gods of the temple build-

ings, all enshrined in this hall. We earnestly wish that their supernat-

ural power be well accorded in manifesting advantageous assistance,

that the monastic institution become ever more prosperous as granted

with everlasting impartial blessing. Once again, may the practitioners

intone the prayer: Veneration to the Buddhas of the ten directions and

the three periods, and so on.

3. The Administrative Office’s Special Serving

of Sweet Hot Water for the Primary Seat Official

and the Practitioners on the Four

Annual Celebration Days

When the prayer chanting has concluded, a special serving of sweet hot water should be conducted at the practice hall. The head administrative official must prepare a note of invitation for this reception beforehand (format given below), and after the noon meal he visits the front hall primary seat official, accompanied by the guest reception attendant carrying a crepe-wrapped board equipped with an incense burner and candle stand. Burning incense and performing a prostration with unopened sitting cloth, the official says:

We are pleased to announce that a special reception for a serving of

sweet hot water will be conducted in honor of the venerable primary

seat official and the practitioners at the practice hall this evening. May

the venerable, with due compassion, be present at this reception.

The head administrative official presents the written invitation to the

primary seat official, who, in turn, instructs the tea master of the practitioners’ quarters to give it to the alms-serving master, to be posted on the wall of the lower-ranking section of the outer practice hall. Following the notice of this special serving, the guest reception master of the administrative office announces:

After the sweet hot water reception, an evening meal will be served.

Next, the head administrative official, with an incense case in his sleeve, visits the abbot’s office and, after performing a prostration with unopened sitting cloth, invites the abbot:

We are prepared to serve this evening at the practice hall especially in

honor of the primary seat official and the resident practitioners. I earnestly

wish that the venerable master, with due compassion, be present at this

occasion.

Thereupon, the guest reception master of the administrative office is instructed to extend the same invitation to the retired officials of both orders as well as all the other quarters, all of whom respectively post a tablet indicating the event at their quarters. When each official has been individually

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勅修百丈清規 — Classical Chinese